lry riding-school.

The most vicious and unmanageable beasts from the Limousin were often
sent to us, and when any one of these was deemed peculiarly untractable,
'Give him to Tiernay' was the last appeal, before abandoning him as
hopeless. I'm certain I owe much of the formation of my character to
my life at this period, and that my love of adventure, my taste
for excitement, my obstinate resolution to conquer a difficulty, my
inflexible perseverance when thwarted, and my eager anxiety for praise,
were all picked up amid the sawdust and tan of the riding-school. How
long I might have continued satisfied with such triumphs, and content
to be the wonder of the freshly joined conscripts, I know not, when
accident, or something very like it, decided the question.

It was a calm, delicious evening in April, in the year after I had
entered the school, that I was strolling alone on the old fortified
wall, which, once a strong redoubt, was the favourite walk of the good
citizens of Nancy. I was somewhat tired with the fatigues of the day,
and sat down to rest under one of the acacia-trees, whose delicious
blossom was already scenting the air. The night was still and noiseless;
not a man moved along the wall; the hum of the city was gradually
subsiding, and the lights in the cottages over the plain told that the
labourer was turning homeward from his toil. It was an hour to invite
calm thoughts, and so I fell a-dreaming over the tranquil pleasures of
a peasant's life, and the unruffled peace of an existence passed amid
scenes that were endeared by years of intimacy. 'How happily,' thought
I, 'time must steal on in these quiet spots, where the strife and
struggle of war are unknown, and even the sounds of conflict never
reach!' Suddenly my musings were broken in upon by hearing the measured
tramp of cavalry, as at a walk; a long column wound their way along
the zigzag approaches, which by many a redoubt and fosse, over many a
drawbridge, and beneath many a strong arch, led to the gates of Nancy.
The loud, sharp call of a trumpet was soon heard, and, after a brief
parley, the massive gates of the fortress were opened for the troops to
enter. From the position I occupied exactly over the gate, I could not
only see the long, dark line of armed men as they passed, but also hear
the colloquy which took place as they entered--

'What regiment?*

'Detachments of the 12th Dragoons and the 22nd Chasseurs a cheval.'

'Where from?'